Wild Kratts and a Feral Child
by superkoola
Summary: The Tortuga Gang have arrived at the jungles of Cameroon to study a troop of gorilla led by an albino male. However, it was put on hold when they discovered that a girl was living among them. As they learned more about the girl and the male, the albino and the girl were being targeted by a group of poachers. Can the Kratts save not only the girl and albino, but the entire troop?


In the jungles of Cameroon, there is a jeep driving on a dirt path. Inside the car, there was a small family of three Taiwanese descent people; a man in his late 30s named Pai-han, who was driving the car, his wife named Ching-yi. next to him looking at a map, and their 5 year old daughter named Ting-Ting, who is looking at the jungle outside.

This family is part of a wildlife conservation group called "The Gorilla Organization". Founded in the early 1990s by Doctor Dian Fossey, it is made for the sole purpose of studying and protecting the last remaining gorillas from extinction. Pai-han has been a part of the organization for nearly 15 years. There, he met Ching-yi, and as the old romance cliché goes, they fell in love, married, and soon had Ting-Ting. Pai-han has always had a fascination for gorillas since he was little; their humongous size in comparison to other primates, yet their gentle nature and remarkable similarities to humans, especially with genes and behavior. And thankfully for him and his wife, Ting-Ting also inherited their interest in the giant primates, so they decided – with approval from their boss of course – to take her in a 'take your kid to work day' to the jungles, hoping to spot any gorillas nearby.

* * *

Soon, Pai-han noticed a good parking spot for their jeep. "Alright, here we are, ladies." He said in a Taiwanese accent. Ching-yi and Pai-han looked outside and smiled. "Yes, this looks pretty good; some of our friends here have spotted an interesting troop." She explained. Ting-Ting looked at her mother, confused.

"Troop?" she asked. Pai-han nodded. "That's a name for a group of apes." He clarified. Ting-Ting widened her eyes in realization, then nodded with an understanding smile. "Okay. So what makes this 'troop' so special?" she asked. Ching-yi smiled as she turned to her and kneeled down to her level. "Well, there are rumors going around about a troop of gorillas led by an _albino_ Silverback." She explained, face brightening with interest. Ting-Ting looked in confusion. "Albino?" she asked. Pai-han nodded as he approached them. "Albinism is a human, or animal that has white hair or skin due to a mutation before birth." He explained.

"Oooooh…racist." Went Ting-Ting with a cheeky smirk. The adults were taken aback for a moment, before they frowned. "Ting-Ting," scolded her mother, but she had a playful smirk as she gently ruffled her daughter's hair, while Ting-Ting was giggling. "I really gotta teach you what racism REALLY means." Pai-han grumbled to himself as he shook his head.

Once Ting-Ting settled down from her giggling fit, she then asked, "So, where is this albino gorilla?" she asked. The parents smiled, and Pai-han pointed to the woods. "If we go further in the jungle, we might be able to find them. They must be pretty elusive if that gorilla was able to hide from predators and poachers." He explained, the last part with a bit of dread. Ting-Ting looked at her father, confused as he unpacked their things to get ready. "Poachers?" she asked Chin-yi.

Chin-yi nodded as she placed her hands on Ting-Ting's shoulders. "Poachers are people who hunt animals illegally." She said. Ting-Ting raised a brow. "Hunt animals illegally? Don't other people hunt animals as well?" she asked. Ching-yi nodded. "Yes. But _those_ hunters have a permit to hunt animals. Poachers do not. They hunt any animal they can find without restrictions from the law. That makes them bad people." She explained. Ting-Ting frowned upon hearing this; why would those bad people hunt such amazing creatures?

Ching-yi must've read her mind, because she knew what Ting-Ting was thinking of. "I know why those people are hunting such beautiful creatures." She said. Ting-Ting looked at her. "You do?" she asked. Ching-yi nodded. "Yes. And in a way, I can kind of relate to them." She said. Then Pai-han approached them. "Are you two ready? We should get moving before the troop leaves, assuming they haven't already." He said. Ching-yi and Ting-Ting nodded, before the former looked back at her. "We'll talk later, sweetheart." She said. Ting-Ting nodded before they took some of their gear and followed Pai-ha into the jungle.

* * *

The trek though the dense foliage was a nightmare for poor Ting-Ting. While her parents are used to treks like this, she was not. Obvious, since this is her first time in such an environment. The intense heat, the irritating branches and leaves, as well as the occasional bugs that would bite at them, are enough to make her mentally regret choosing to go with her parents. However, no matter how much they've trekked in the jungle, they never found any gorillas. Sure they've found various other wildlife, including the Black and White Colobus Monkeys, Red-Fronted Gazelles, and Waterbucks, but they were not what the family was looking for.

However, things went sour when they were observing one group of Red-Fronted Gazelles…an even that would change Ting-Ting's live forever…

While Pai-han was busy observing the gazelles, Ching-yi and Ting-Ting were resting on one of the trees nearby, looking at the canopy above, listening to the cries of various birds and other animals in the distance. Ting-Ting was eating some crackers she brought for herself – and to give to the albino gorilla and his troop – when she heard her mother sigh to herself. "What is it, mom?" she asked curiously.

Ching-yi looked towards her, and gave a tired smile, but shrugged. "Oh nothing, sweetie." She said. Ting-Ting looked at her for a while, before scooching closer to her. "Mom?" she asked. "What?" Ching-yi replied. "Um…do you think there might be any…poachers around here?" she asked, voice filled with concern.

Ching-yi's face turned to a frowny look, before she looked at her. "Probably. But they're somewhere far away from here. So for now, we should be safe." She assured. Ting-Ting smiled at the reassurance, before she then looked at her, now growing a bit serious. "Mom…what do you mean by 'relate to the poachers'?" she then asked. Chin-yi was taken aback for a moment, before remembering the conversation they had earlier. So with a sigh, she turned to her with a serious face. "Ting-Ting…what I'm about to tell you, you can _NEVER,_ " she stated close to her ear, adding 'never' in a strict tone, making Ting-Ting flinch a bit. " _EVER_ tell this to _anyone._ Not even to your dad. Okay?" she whispered. Ting-Ting, despite the fear and curiosity in her body, nodded. Ching-yi took in a breath, and then nodded before she turned to her.

"Ting-Ting…the reason why I…in a way, sympathize with the poachers…is because I used to be one." She said. Ting-Ting felt her heat skip a beat for a moment; her mother used to be a criminal? "What?" she asked in disbelief. Ching-yi raised her hands slightly and motioned them downwards. "Please calm down, sweetie. And keep your voice down." She instructed, before looking at Pai-han, who was still observing the gazelles. When the coast was clear, she then turned to Ting-Ting. "Yes…I used to be a poacher." She explained.

Ting-Ting looked at her, feeling confused and a bit betrayed as well. "W-Why?" she asked. Ching-yi eyed the ground for a moment, as she tried to think of what she has to say. With a sigh, she then looked at her. "Because when I was 15, my family was poor." She explained.

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

 _We see a small family living inside of a small hut in a large slummy area. Sitting in a makeshift chair, is young Ching-yi, preparing something in her bag._ _ **"Back in Taiwan, I always had to leave so I could go with a group of poachers that hunt an endangered fruit bat called the Ryukyu Flying Fox. Their meat is very delicious, and sold well in the Black Market."**_ _Present Ching-yi explained as the young Ching-yi left the house while a sinister Jeep pulls by._

 _Now we see her, along with other poachers traversing along the jungle, looking for the fruit bat. Young Ching-yi was behind the rest of the group. She was looking around, excited to find the fruit bat._ _ **"The meat from those bats could be worth 15462500.00 Taiwan dollars. That's $500,000 US."**_ _Present Ching-yi explained, just as young Ching-yi noticed something flying above her. It was the Ryukyu Fruit Bat, perching onto a branch on the top. With an excited smile, she got her rifle ready, and aimed for the bat._

 _ **BANG!**_

 _*Flashback ended*_

* * *

At around the same time young Ching-yi pulled the trigger, in the present timeline, there was a loud gunshot resonating through the jungle. Ching-yi, Pai-han and Ting-Ting jumped as one of the Red-Fronted Gazelles was brought down. Pai-han looked at the two behind him. "Hide! Over there!" he whispered as he pushed Ching-yi and Ting-Ting into nearby bushes, forcing Ting-Ting to drop her crackers.

They hid inside just in time, as several dogs came rushing out. These are Coonhounds, bred to track prey down by smell. The Coonhounds approached the dead gazelle, and they were followed by several footsteps. Pai-han and Ching-yi visibly paled while Ting-Ting looked on in confusion. _"What happened? W-Was that a gunshot? Wait…"_ she thought to herself as her eyes widened in horror and realization. From the trees near the dead gazelle, stepped several people of African-American descent.

Poachers…

Ting-Ting silently gasped as the poachers and their hounds walked into view, inspecting the gazelle. Pai-han looked on as one of them gestured another to bring something to him while he grabbed the horns. These monsters are probably gonna cut the creature up for bush meat. Bush meat is a pretty popular for the poor regions of Africa. " _Sure these people are poor, but there are other ways to get money…miserable men."_ Pai-han thought to himself in disgust. Ching-yi on the other hand looked on with a bit of pity; how could she be mad at them when she was in the exact same position as them.

As the rest of the poachers arrived at the body, one of the hounds began to sniff around, when it noticed something near the tree where Ching-yi and Ting-Ting were sitting at moments earlier. The hound began to approach the tree, and began to sniff at the strange object. It was the bag of crackers Ting-Ting was eating.

Ching-yi widened her eyes once she saw the hound sniffing the crackers. So she turned towards Ting-Ting. "Ting-Ting? Listen to me," she began. Ting-Ting listened to her. "I need you to _slowly_ slide away from here. We'll be right there with you soon." She instructed. Ting-Ting looked at her in shock. But Ching-yi pressed her lips shut. "There's no time for this. Slowly, and _quietly_ sneak back. The dog's gonna find us soon." She instructed firmly as the hound turned towards the direction his nose followed, and growled. Ting-Ting looked at the dog, and noticing the aggressive look on its face, understood what her mother was saying, and slowly began to slide away.

The hound's growl caught the attention of one of the poachers, and he turned to the hound. In his native language, he instructed one of his friends to pick up a rifle and follow him. Pai-han widened his eyes, before he turned to his wife and daughter, the latter still crawling away. One of the poachers raised his rifle, and pulled the trigger, shooting the air above them.

 _ **Bang!**_

The closeness of the loud sound made Ting-Ting yelp in fear. The parents immediately flinched, and the hound barked towards them. Ting-Ting then noticed some of the poachers approaching them. Ching-yi then grasped her shoulders. "Run! Now!" she said firmly. Ting-Ting widened her eyes in fear, and that fear grew bigger as the poachers approached them. Pai-han was the first to get up, and charged towards the main poacher. The poacher didn't have time to shoot him as he was tackled. Ching-yi followed after him as she prepared to fight back. Ting-Ting remained frozen for a while, watching her parents fighting the remaining poachers.

 _ **Ruff! Ruff!**_

Ting-Ting noticed the hound, as well as several others barking at her. "Run! Get out of here!" Pai-han instructed as the hounds went after her. Ting-Ting saw the dogs, and not thinking of anything else at the moment, ran away from the scene. The main poacher pushed Pai-han off, and banged him in the head with the butt of the rifle, knocking him out as the other poacher pushed Ching-yi to the ground. In his native language, the main poacher instructed several others to follow the hounds, which they complied.

Ting-Ting ran as fast as she could across the jungles, listening to the barks and shouts right behind her. Despite her age, she was surprisingly quick and fast, maneuvering through the bushes with ease and moving through arching branches.

Eventually, the men were growing too tired to chase her even more thanks to the heat. The hounds however, didn't stop chasing her, and they continued the pursuit. Ting-Ting felt her heart beginning to pound against her chest, her lung burning from all the running, not to mention the heat. One of the hounds began to approach her, and snapped at her legs, barely missing her.

Ahead and up in the canopy, there is something sleeping on top of the branches. It was the apex predator of the jungles; the African Leopard. Weighing in around 130 lbs. on average, the big cat are known for being sleek and stealthy, making it suitable for sneaking around in the dense foliage, whereas something as big as a Lion couldn't maneuver around as easily.

The Leopard was napping, having just come back from marking the area surrounding him as his territory, when he can hear barking in the distance. The leopard opened its eyes, and lifted its head to look at the direction of the bark. It noticed Ting-Ting and the hounds approaching its direction. Seeing the hounds, it caught the predator's interest. So it stood up, and prepared to pounce down.

Ting-Ting felt the snapping jaws of the hound nearby, and she gritted her teeth in fright. She can't outrun the hounds forever; eventually they'll catch her, and they'll probably tear her apart with no remorse. The worst part; there'll be no one to help her.

Thankfully for her, salvation did arrive…in an unexpected, unintentional form.

The leopard pounced down, landing on top of one of the hounds. Ting-Ting heard something from her back, and she briefly looked back, stopping to see the leopard fighting off the hounds, which had turned their interest to the big cat. Ting-Ting didn't stay behind for long however and she continued running through the jungle, the battle echoing in the distance from you.

Even though she wanted to get as far away as possible, her legs were screaming at her to stop; the muscles were aching, her heart was pounding at this point, and her lungs are desperately trying to catch air. Before long, Ting-Ting was forced to stop and lie down on her back.

Ting-Ting continued to take in deep breaths, exhausted from all the running she had to do to just get away from the hounds. As she does so, a memory came into her mind;

Her parents fighting off the poachers, giving her time to escape! Ting-Ting immediately raised her head up, and looked around. She tried to find out where she was, but the area she's surrounded in was the same as everywhere else; a near endless span of trees, vines, rocks and flowers. Ting-Ting immediately got up, and continued to walk around, searching for a way back to her car and get help.

Minutes after walking around, she found herself in the same spot as she was before. Ting-Ting grew scared, and began to call for help. "Help!" she called. Her only response was echoes. Ting-Ting looked around some more as she tried again. Tears were streaming down as she did so. "Help…" she called out, voice growing weaker and more broken. After a while of walking around, she stopped as she came to a horrible realization…

She was lost...

Ting-Ting couldn't control herself anymore, as she then sat back down and began to cry, her face on her knees as she curled up, wanting to just simply disappear from the face of the earth. She prayed this was all but a dream; a dream in which she'll wake up, and be back at her room, her mother and father at work, leaving her with a babysitter to keep watch. But…life doesn't work that way, unfortunately.

* * *

She continued crying, recollecting the memory of her parents and the poachers continuously in her mind. However, it wasn't long before she heard trees rustling nearby. She looked at the direction of the rustling bushes, and froze in fear, not being able to move at all.

The bushes continued being pushed around, before Ting-Ting noticed a strange coloring behind the bushes. It appeared to white, with pink running down the front. "Wait…" Ting-Ting said to herself. "That can't be right. No other animal in Africa's rainforest are white, and I don't remember if zebras live in the rainforest as well. Wait…that could only mean…" she mumbled to herself as a creature soon stepped out into view. Ting-Ting widened her eyes at what she saw.

It was Western Lowland Gorilla, but…instead of the usual black fur covering its body and a grey stomach and chest; it was completely white, with a pinkish skin in exposed areas. It also had blue eyes as well. Ting-Ting gasped.

This was the albino Gorilla Pai-han and Ching-yi were talking about! And it wasn't alone either.

Behind the gorilla, 6 more adult gorillas; all female, some of them carrying offspring with them followed their leader right behind them. Ting-Ting looked at the troop. "That…mom and dad were right! This is…" Ting-Ting couldn't find the right words to describe it; this was such a rare occurrence that it might as well be impossible. Like, come on! An albino animal in the wild, not only fully grown, but a healthy individual as well!

However, Ting-Ting found little time to celebrate, as the albino gorilla began to approach her. She gasped in fright and stood still, cowering in submission. She remembered her father's advice very well; if she ever encounters a group of gorillas and a silverback is nearby,

Don't look it in the eyes.

Shrink yourself as far as you can so you don't look like a threat.

And lastly, don't make any sudden movements.

Ting-Ting remembered those steps very well, as she didn't want to die at something that was the result of an accident on her part. The albino gorilla soon approached her, and it began sniffing the little girl. Ting-Ting gritted her teeth in fear as she continued to be sniffed at. The albino gorilla grunted a bit, making her flinch a bit. Thankfully it wasn't enough to startle the alpha male.

Eventually, the albino gorilla determined she wasn't a threat to his troops, and eventually walked aside. Ting-Ting thought it was over, but then the other gorillas approached her, wanting to take a look at her. One of the gorillas sniffed her for a moment, before it raised its hand to touch her hair. Ting-Ting felt the gorilla fiddling his hair. "Um…what are you doing?" she asked to the gorilla, even though she knew it wouldn't understand her.

Then, one of the newborn gorillas inspected her. Ting-Ting looked at it, and gave a slight smile, before reaching out to try and touch it. However, one of the adults, presumably the mother, pulled the infant away. Ting-Ting pulled her arm back, and just sat there as the other gorillas inspected her.

Soon, the albino gorilla called to them, telling them it was time to move. The other gorillas looked at it, and followed their troop leader. Ting-Ting looked at the troop. "Wow…" she went, a small smile growing on her face; seeing such a beautiful, rare sight to see for almost anyone. Oh if only she could tell her family!

Wait…

Ting-Ting then widened her eyes as she remembered that her parents were fighting the poachers earlier. She looked down in sorrow as she grew saddened again. She was lost, nowhere to go…

Unless…

She looked at the gorilla troop led by the albino. Ting-Ting at first thought it was ridiculous. But…what other option is there? She's lost, in an unfamiliar environment with literally **NOTHING** to defend herself with. However, there's also the risk of the albino alpha male, and the risk of aggravating it…

Ting-Ting weighed her options carefully for a while, before noticing the troop leaving. In a second, she made her decision.

Ting-Ting got on fours so as not to startle the troop, and began to crawl towards the troop slowly. The albino male turned its head towards her, and she froze slightly, not looking it in the eye to show submission. After a while however, the albino male just turned ahead and continued walking off. Ting-Ting looked up, and sighed in relief as she continued following the troop.

A brand new adventure has just began for young Ting-Ting, one that had her run into a famous animal, and eventually, meet up with a particularly famous pair of brothers later on…


End file.
